1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a target analysis method, apparatus and computer-readable medium, and more particularly, to a target analysis method, apparatus and computer-readable medium based on a depth image and an intensity image, which may accurately detect each portion of a desired video target from a video stream, thereby obtaining motion information of the target.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with various applications such as three-dimensional (3D) animation, games, human interface, and the like, there are wide research activities on video target analysis technology in current computer video and model identification regions. To perform an animation simulation, each portion of the video target may need to be detected in advance and motion information of the target may need to be obtained.
To detect each portion of the video target, a bottom-up method and a top-down method may be used. In the bottom-up method, each portion of the target may be detected using characteristics of each portion of the target. For example, a skin color or a line type of arms and legs may be detected, and then a registration may be performed of detected candidate portions based on the detected information. The bottom-up method may significantly rely on typical characteristics of each portion of the target, and may be influenced by background noise. In the top-down method, a repeated retrieval may be performed on a space of the target shape, a hypothesis may be suggested, and a hypothesis evaluation may be performed. In the top-down method, a searching space may need to be significantly reduced to accelerate a calculation speed.
In general, a foreground may need to be segmented from a source image in a video target analysis process. Specifically, in the foreground segmentation, the target may be accurately detected by deleting a complex background region. A conventional foreground segmentation method may be performed based on a color image of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. Since a background of the color image is significantly complex, a segmentation calculation amount based on a foreground of the color image may be significantly great and inaccurate. The foreground segmentation method is performed based on a current depth image, however, and may be inaccurately performed.
Once the foreground segmentation is inaccurately performed, a consecutive target analysis subsequently performed may be significantly difficult to perform, and the target analysis result may be influenced by interference of background noise having similar characteristics. Also, rich edge characteristics may frequently occur in the complex background region, and the edge characteristics may become noise to influence an analysis result of the edge characteristic in the processes of detecting each portion of the target and of evaluating the hypothesis.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a target analysis method, apparatus and computer-readable medium which may accurately segment a foreground to improve a target analysis performance.